Nation

The money that nobody wants to collect!

Economists and experts are in queue nowadays to offer their ‘valuable’ suggestions to the government in purely ‘non-partisan’ manner. They are united in the stand that the Government should borrow money from outside to effectively tackle the situation. They are uni-vocal while describing the ‘prospects’ of dwindling economy. Does it mean / convey anything?

This series on augmenting the revenues has given room for a question – ‘why is there so much of anger?’ People want to know whether I belong to the Right or the Left. I am neither. I am trying to be a Gandian and it is not anger but anguish. Readers may please be assured that this series or my writings in general are NOT directed against individuals; they are indicative and reflective of the defeated beliefs of the people in general. 

All those eminent personalities who day in and day out keep advising the government and who have the golden fortune to occupy some space or a seat in the Media say that Indian economy is dangerously on the brink of collapse and going by the studies and research of the men carrying the imported theories and ideologies that are so dear to them, they very proudly declare that millions are going to die out of starvation!

 They are categorically affirmative that there is just one way to get out of the worsening crisis. What is it? We should follow China; we should obey China; we should abide by China; if possible, we can even consider changing the name of our country to China so that every single problem of India would vanish the next day!

We admit that we have a severe crisis on hand and something drastic has to be done to revive the economy to assure a better living to our working class. The pandemic has very badly affected the very livelihood of the labourers, the daily wage earners, the peasants, the artisans, the petty shop owners, village and cottage industries, small and medium scale enterprises all over the country. The resultant damages are bound to reflect upon their lives for quite some period and may take months for normalcy to return and the lost comfort is restored. 

Without being politically attached to any block, we can notice that the Government of India is doing its best to tide over the crisis; to arrest the spreading virus; to ensure proper medical treatment to the ones under the attack; to provide reasonable assistance to the jobless and the displaced lot and to secure a safe passage to a virus free society. It’s a really massive exercise and so far the government has been able to contain the spread and is firmly marching ahead to the total success in the war against the invisible deadly enemy.   

We do no roll out an unbridled praise and appreciation; we have certain reservations too particularly with regard to the near total absence of interest of the government in finding out ways and means ‘to increase the revenues without in any way burdening the common man’. 

Till a few months ago, we could quite often hear and come across this term – ‘Benami transactions’. We really believed that the government was truly serious about ‘booking the benamis’ and bringing in huge amount of tax, interest and penalty to the exchequer. 

Sadly it proved to be a non-starter and nothing seems to be happening – only to retain its ‘fame’ as a government of loud announcements and self-trumpeting without ever bothering to deliver what it says. Expectedly, the opposition parties including the Left maintain a strict silence too over the issue, not inclined to rake it up for reasons best known to them and to us! 

People of our country in general are not so pleased with this government as it is being publicized. The common man feels isolated and considers that he is treated more like an alien than a fellow human being whose well being should be the top most priority of the people in power. The ordinary citizen is justified too and so we see strong displeasure and disapproval all over. 

Whenever the government proclaims that the people of this great nation should be prepared to sacrifice and be ready to accept the bitter bills for the later good, it is directed against the poorest lot. These so called corrective measures do not ever attempt to stop the contemptuous run of the wealthy ones and of those who are close to the reins of power.

Had the government seriously pursued the benami transactions with a definite time frame, there would have been a huge amount of revenue credited to the treasury account. It is learnt that Tamilnadu has maximum number of cases initiated and also maximum number of proceedings pending. It is mainly because the units in many states have not even started the exercise of identifying potential cases. 

Why this slackening? Why so much of indifference to the initiative of the government? Could there be so much of inaction without being instructed to be so? Does the government not have the responsibility to explain the failure in this regard to the people of this country? 

When there is an unprecedented crisis that demands extensive programs of very huge amounts, why does not the government turn its guns towards the illegal, unaccounted accumulation of wealth by a few? An intensive, result oriented drive towards unearthing the benami properties and a special task force to fast-track the proceedings would for sure fetch enormous money in short span of time. 

Similarly, thanks to the benevolence of the government, there is substantial amount of income that goes untaxed under the head –‘agricultural income’. It is perfect and is quite understandable too that the farmers are given tax exemption and we fully, whole heartedly support the stand. But is this exemption in reality benefiting the poor peasants as much as it is expected?

There are a number of income tax returns being filed every year where the agriculture income is offered in crores! Which farmer in this country cultivates so much to earn money in lakhs and crores? These incomes admitted in the returns are but bogus claims made by certain elements who pump in their unaccounted money and ill gotten wealth into the system without having to pay taxes on it. 

The politicians, the actors, the businessmen and the investors buy lands in the country side – most of them barren and uncultivable; yet, they admit huge income from there. Can there be a safer way of escapement of taxes? 

There is of course a much easier way to curb, to curtail this unethical practice. Fix a ceiling on agricultural income for exemption. It could be 12 lakks a year. Which farmer here would earn a monthly income of Rs one lakh? The amount of ceiling could be determined in consultation with the actual representatives from the agricultural sector. 

The ceiling would ensure a far higher amount of income being subjected to tax. Based on a rough, unscientific estimate, the excess revenue likely to result in the event of a ceiling would be around Rs one lakh crore every year! Is the government not aware of these illegitimate claims? Why then is any effective action not forthcoming? Sorry, no prizes for guessing it right. 

Government of India may try super rich tax on luxury items,  may impose additional tax on sin goods, may enhance entertainment tax and may introduce special cess on prizes and earnings from gambling and others. 

To borrow is the most primitive way to raise quick money. It is also the most dangerous trap. While there is money that can be tapped, why should we be trapped?

Without ever bothering to suggest and attempt ways to increase the revenue, we keep devising plans for more liabilities, for more obligations – making the economy more volatile, more vulnerable. 

There indeed is enormous scope to strengthen the source, to widen the streams, to deepen the channels so that lager amount of water would flow into it. It is not as much about ‘digging’ as it is about ‘deciding’. 

May better sense prevail! 

What else can we say? 

  • Baskaran Krishnamurthy. 
5 Comments

5 Comments

  1. Pingback: where to buy white berry strain

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

four × 1 =

News is information about current events. News is provided through many different media: word of mouth, printing, postal systems, broadcasting, electronic communication, and also on the testimony of observers and witnesses to events. It is also used as a platform to manufacture opinion for the population.

Contact Info

Address:
D 601  Riddhi Sidhi CHSL
Unnant Nagar Road 2
Kamaraj Nagar, Goreagaon West
Mumbai 400062 .

Email Id: [email protected]

West Bengal

Eastern Regional Office
Indsamachar Digital Media
Siddha Gibson 1,
Gibson Lane, 1st floor, R. No. 114,
Kolkata – 700069.
West Bengal.

Office Address

251 B-Wing,First Floor,
Orchard Corporate Park, Royal Palms,
Arey Road, Goreagon East,
Mumbai – 400065.

Download Our Mobile App

IndSamachar Android App IndSamachar IOS App
To Top
WhatsApp WhatsApp us